Despite a number of obvious Palestinian attempts to
inexcusably sow murder and mayhem among the peaceful
civilian population of Jerusalem the number of casualties
has been remarkably light, due to the diligent efforts of
the Israeli security forces and a healthy dose of
rachamei Shomayim. The general public, aside from
saying a few extra prayers daily, is leading life as
normal.
On Sunday, Tisha B'Av, hundreds of policemen stormed the
Temple Mount after Palestinian rioters pelted Tisha B'Av
mourners at the Kosel Ma'arovi with rocks. Hundreds of
worshipers were briefly evacuated from the Wall midday as
police entered the Temple Mount for the first time in three
months and carefully used only stun grenades to quell the
violence. They deliberately did not use live ammunition or
even rubber bullets. The stun grenades cannot hurt anyone,
but they make a lot of noise. Clashes continued
intermittently throughout the afternoon, but mourners were
permitted to return to the Kosel plaza after about half an
hour.
The violence started just after midday Muslim prayers, at
least three hours after about a small group of the self-
styled Temple Mount Faithful drove their large rock that
they call "cornerstone for the Third Temple" up to the
Givati parking lot, outside the Shaar Ashpot in the Arab
village of Silwan.
The small, media-hungry group conducts its ceremony several
times a year. Police and the political leaders informed all
the Arab leaders that the group would not be allowed
anywhere near the Temple Mount, and not even be allowed to
enter the walls of the Old City. Nonetheless, the Islamic
Movement, the PA, and even Arab MKs issued calls throughout
the entire weekend to "defend" the Al Aqsa mosque and the
Temple Mount. Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy said
that MKs Ahmed Tibi and Abdul Malik Dahamshe in particular
incited the youths to continue the violence for several
hours after the first volley of stones.
Just before 3 p.m., with the stone throwing increasing and
Wakf officials clearly failing to stop the Palestinian
youths, Levy authorized hundreds of police officers, led by
Aharonishky, to reenter the Temple Mount, and they charged
and dispersed the remaining stone throwers with stun
grenades. Twenty-eight Palestinians, including Dahamshe's
son, were arrested.
About 350 Palestinian youths entered the Aqsa Mosque to
avoid arrest, knowing that the police would not enter. They
remained there for next three hours, after initially
refusing to leave the compound until police left the site.
Finally at 6:30, they filed out, led by Tibi after an
agreement that there would be no further arrests then.
However, police took careful pictures of those coming out,
and police sources said that further arrests would be
made.
Also on Sunday Tisha B'Av, a car bomb exploded in an
underground parking lot in Pisgat Zeev. There was some
damage to the building and two people suffered from shock.
However much of the bomb did not explode. Some police
experts suggested that the original plan had been to bring
the car to a central location, but the tight security had
forced the terrorists to abandon that plan and leave the car
in Pisgat Zeev. If all the material had exploded, it may
have caused the building to collapse.
On Monday there were also several terror attacks and alerts,
raising concern the capital could become the new focus of
Palestinian terrorism. Police said that there were warnings
that there would be several attempts by terrorists to cause
a tragedy.
In the territories, three border policemen were wounded --
two seriously -- in a shooting ambush near Bir e-Sika, just
inside the Green Line. There was shooting throughout the
day.
The IAF struck at a Palestinian Police weapons factory in
Gaza City, following mortar attacks on Kfar Darom and Netzer
Hazani in which a seven-year-old girl was lightly wounded by
shrapnel and several buildings were damaged.
The Palestinian Authority is thought to be attempting to
draw a heavy Israeli retaliation in order to bolster its
case for international observers.
Six Fatah men died in an explosion north of Nablus Sunday
night in what appeared to be what the army calls a "work
accident," but the PA pledged revenge for the
"assassination."
The Arab world is still incensed by the Tisha B'Av clash on
the Temple Mount, with Arab League Secretary-General Amr
Moussa quoted as warning of "even more calamitous events" in
the near future. However, it is not clear what Israel did
that was provocative.
Monday afternoon, Rafael Hezkein, 38, was seriously wounded
after he was stabbed on Rechov Haggai in the Moslem Quarter
of Jerusalem's Old City. He managed to reach Damascus Gate,
where a Magen David Adom team revived him after he lost
consciousness. He was taken to Hadassah-University Hospital,
Ein Kerem, suffering from several stab wounds to the chest
and back. After surgery, his condition was described as very
serious and still life threatening.
According to an initial police investigation, Hezkein was
described as homeless and known to walk in the Old City.
Police detained several suspects for questioning. The attack
seemed to be a terror attack, but police could not rule out
other possibilities.
Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy described recent
incidents as attempts by the Palestinians to drag Jerusalem
into the wave of violence that has engulfed the country. He
called on the public to report anything suspicious.
In another incident, a small bomb placed in a beer can
exploded in the Co-op supermarket in the basement of the
Migdal Ha'ir building in downtown Jerusalem. No one was
wounded.
Levy said that security forces are on high alert and noted
that the capital has already recently suffered one suicide
bomb attack, eight other bombings, and seven car bombs.
Security sources said that by avoiding wholesale strikes on
the Palestinian population, they are trying to neutralize PA
Chairman Yasser Arafat's attempts to create regional
instability.
"We are not interested in vengeance, retaliation for the
sake of retaliation," said a defense source. "We want to
strike at the targets, accurately, to extract a price from
the Palestinians for the violence."
"While we have to retaliate, it is focused on hitting
terror, pinpoint foiling of terror attacks against Israel,
and striking when we have the proper intelligence and
ability to do so," the official said.
Deputy infrastructure minister Naomi Blumenthal has asked
the state to investigate the roles of MK Ahmed Tibi and
Abdulmalik Dahamshe in the demonstrations by Arabs at the
Temple Mount on Sunday. Blumenthal has asked Attorney
General Eliakim Rubinstein to set up a committee to examine
whether the two Arab MKs were involved in inciting the Arab
demonstrators to violence. Jerusalem police claim to have
evidence of Tibi's active role in the demonstrations and
argue that the MK arrived at the scene not to maintain calm,
as Tibi claims, but to incite the Muslim faithful.
